Conrad Black: Spain’s Massive Blackouts a Cautionary Tale for Canada

Conrad Black: Spain’s Massive Blackouts a Cautionary Tale for Canada
People wait outside a closed metro station during a blackout in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2025. AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Conrad Black
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Commentary
Three weeks ago, all of Spain was startled by a complete electricity blackout without warning. Air traffic control could not contact airplanes, trains stalled in stations or stopped on their tracks mid-journey, telecommunications were knocked out, and a national emergency was declared. These blackouts spread into southern France and Portugal, conveying the regrettable and apparently unsuspected message that if one nation mismanages its grid, it takes its neighbours down with it.
Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Author
Conrad Black has been one of Canada’s most prominent financiers for 40 years and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world. He’s the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and, most recently, “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,” which has been republished in updated form. Follow Conrad Black with Bill Bennett and Victor Davis Hanson on their podcast Scholars and Sense.